


Red Queen

by aphrodisiac



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4490013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphrodisiac/pseuds/aphrodisiac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enrena Choi Irdite is the eldest daughter to the long banished Goddess of Darkness, Aurora. Having spent decades honing her black magic to masterful levels and conquering strange lands to achieve superiority, Enrena now embarks on a quest to search for her mother, and if Aurora is still alive, they shall rise together and annihilate all of Asgard as the act of ultimate vengeance. </p><p>Yet, in the wide world of Midgard, things are far more complicated than they seem. However, for Enrena, this is just another deathly game to play, and she finds it interesting to see who shall claim victory, and who shall meet their demise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Interstellar

**Author's Note:**

> I have no copyrights to the characters in this story, EXCEPT the ones I created myself, which are Enrena Irdite (Red Queen), Aurora Irdite (Goddess of Darkness), and the people in the Irdite family, for that matter. Other than them, the characters are owned by Marvel.
> 
> This story will be set in Marvel Cinematic Universe. It happens before, during and after Thor: The Dark World. Since this is a fanfiction, I get to play with the characters all I want. Please don't question if I kill off anyone. :-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: Events in this story is set mostly during and after Thor: The Dark World. Please do watch the movie if you haven't, since it's a great movie and also, it enhances the reading experience greatly! 
> 
> (check out the end notes for bonus details)

**RED QUEEN**

**CHAPTER I: Interstellar**

•

_**Capital of Asgard** _

The streets of Quarter Five were always crowded on Cycle Six. Waves after waves of people filled the market. There was barely any social interaction, yet the atmosphere was dripping and heavy as a wet cloth. The stench of food mixed with sweat. The wisps of smoke spiraling from potion stores. The relentless screech of exotic beasts from pet shops. The buzzing netscreens delivering news from different realms and galaxies, but mostly from Midgard. Faint silhouettes of spacecrafts traveling in wide universe. They were all too suffocating.

Iona silently tugged her hood down a bit — enough to cover her vibrant eyes — and squeezed herself through the mass of people flooding in from the opposite direction. She walked faster and avoided eye contact at all costs. She didn’t like crowds, especially in this situation. Just a slip-up, and you could either lose your life or all your possessions. She was walking among wicked thieves, powerful wizards and hideous monsters. Not safe. Her shoulder bumped against someone; a man, probably a head taller than her. Magic was cold on his skin. She did not dare to move, knowing his gaze was on her.

“Better look after what’s in your pocket, princess. Ain’t safe here,” he whispered, almost smugly. Iona’s throat was sand dry. She slipped a hand into her pocket and was relieved to know it hadn’t been stolen yet. She peeked back, but the man had disappeared. She continued walking. Her sister was waiting for her, she had to get back quickly. Grey clouds were rolling over. An impending storm.

Iona reached a small alley shortly after exiting the market. She glanced around a few times. No one was there. She inhaled deeply before sneaking into the narrow pathway. It was dark here, but Iona’s necklace had glowed to life by itself, almost like answering to her initial wish. She inched forward a bit more until she left a sudden change in the temperature. Cold wind. The ground underneath felt lighter. This was it.

The young witch gently whispered, “Aperire Ianua Tempore.” As she finished her incantation, lime green light bursted from her swaying pendant and a coiling mass of pure magic spiraled downward. They swirled and snapped and blazed like electric snakes hissing at a delicious prey. A portal was open seconds after. Without any hesitation, Iona took one step forward and let herself plunge into the gateway. She closed her eyes as she fell into a dark pit. An empty, weightless feeling coursed through her body for one second until she felt gravity dragging her down again. The irrational fear of being trapped in this void gnawed at her brain. She tried not to think; she’d be there soon.

Iona let her eyes flutter open when she could smell something like lavender. The surroundings were blurry for a short second before everything became crystal clear again. Red velvet walls, red velvet bed, ivory pillars and arched windows… She heaved a sigh of relief when she realised where she was. Sister Enrena’s chamber. Exactly where she needed to be.

“Oh dear, took you long enough. I was so worried!” From nowhere, Enrena stepped out, looking glamourous as ever in her royal ball gown and matching hairstyle. She trotted towards Iona and pulled the younger girl in her embrace. As she let her go, she asked, “Were you able to retrieve what I required?”

Iona smirked and stepped away from her sister. She fished from her pocket a glowing ice blue cube. Enrena perked up at the sight. She carefully took the object from Iona’s hand. “Thank you, dear sister,” she breathed. “Without this, we wouldn’t be able to complete the spell. You’ve helped us reach our goal.”

Iona smiled as she removed her torn boots and stained cloak. She reappeared as a far more elegant lady with tied-up brown locks and dressed in an ivory gown. “It’s all my pleasure, sister. You can’t imagine how fun it is to finally being able to deceive Heimdall. Thought he was such a big, scary man. Turns out, he’s just like one of them useless guards. The only thing I’m unhappy about is these dirty clothes you made me wear. I probably have rashes now.”

“Do not complain, Iona. And you must not underestimate our foe. Heimdall is much stronger than we think. He might have discovered it now,” Enrena said, striding to the center of her chamber where lied a circle made of burning black candles, and in the middle of it was a floating spellbook with pages automatically flipping back and worth wildly. The sorceress rounded the circle while murmuring enchanted words, causing the flames to crackle and the candles to melt quicker. The room was getting darker as the skylight was blocked.

“But…he can’t find us, can he?” Iona asked worriedly while closely following her sister.

“Yes, he can. We are in the territory of Asgard, after all. But my magic is strong enough to overpower his while we perform the spell. That is, if he can break my barrier.” Enrena giggled viciously. That assured Iona. Her sister was never wrong, and Iona didn’t think this time would be an exception. The chamber was silent again; only the rhythmic pad of shoes on wood and the distant, haunting whispers of the unknown. Enrena took a small photo, a strand of hair and a frazzled letter to throw into the enchanted circle. “This will help lead us to where mother is,” she quietly explained.

Enrena paused after seven continuous laps. She extended a hand and waved it. All the flames flicked off. The black, molten candle wax bubbled and coiled and popped and oozed more and more deep inside the circle, coating all the items previously thrown in, until a pool of hot, thick black substance formed right underneath the spellbook. A corner of her lips twitched upward. It’s finally working. Enrena gripped at the cosmic cube tightly.

“Is this the final step, sister?” asked Iona.

“No,” Enrena replied. “We must wait for the darkness to consume Book of Wisdom. And then. . . Then we can finally use the Tesseract.”

“How long should it take?”

“Not long. Look, it’s starting already.” Enrena pointed at the sight in front of them. Onyx liquid twisting and snapping, bulking up and up until they were nibbling at the leather cover of the book. Dark tendrils snaked onto the thin pages, tainting them. Iona found the scene rather unpleasant, while Enrena happily observed as if it was the most beautiful thing to have ever happened to her.

The book was halfway “eaten” when the expression on Enrena’s face took a fall. The sorceress spun around as if she sensed danger behind her. Her hands shook a bit. Iona furrowed her eyebrows. “Enrena? What’s wrong? Is the spell not working?”

“No, it’s not the spell. I just sensed something. A source of energy coming our way,” Enrena said. Red sparks danced on her fingertips. Iona felt her heart beat faster. This could not go wrong. Their plans were too perfect to backfire. Was it Heimdall looking for them? Or worse… Thor. Could Enrena go against his Mjolnir?

“Enrena, what if it’s Thor coming for the Tesseract? He has the Mjolnir!” Iona exclaimed, feeling her insides squirm. Enrena could be strong enough, but her? Just one bolt from the hammer and she would be gone for good. Iona glanced over her shoulder. The darkness had almost finished its work with the book. She silently hoped that it would happen quicker.

“It’s not Thor. He can’t locate us so fast. His poor lightning scare can’t shatter my shield,” Enrena insisted, her tone determined. Nonetheless, she was still in defense position. _If it isn’t Thor or Heimdall, who could it be?_

The chamber door rattled. Once. Twice. It crashed open. Iona let out a startled scream. Enrena froze. On the threshold stood their father, Xareus Irdite, his face scorching red, veins drawn across his arms. He was furious. His bulging eyes made him look crazier than usual. “I knew it was you two! Only you brats have the guts to come to the castle and steal His Majesty’s possession! How dare you!”

Unlike Iona, who was shaking vehemently, Enrena stood straighter and spoke with admirable confidence, “This is our decision, father, and our responsibility. I assure you no harm has been caused to our peopl—”

“I don’t care if you killed someone!” Xareus growled so loud, the furniture vibrated. “All I need you to do right now is to hand over the Tesseract so I can return it and save you two from your doom. His Majesty has sent guards to search the entire realm! Sooner or later, you will be caught.”

“Oh I am sure that shall not happen, father. Because I won’t be staying here any longer.”

“What do you mean?” Xareus hissed his question.

Enrena chortled wryly as she raised the Tesseract playfully. Xareus wanted to lunge forward and snatch it, but he knew too well that it wouldn't take Enrena more than a blink to throw him out of the window. “Watch,” she said, teeth gritted, before spinning around and hurling the cube straight into the obsidian pool. Blaring white light washed through the room. The black pool was whitewashed into transparent liquid, which slowly froze over until it became a mirror. Dimension Mirror. Enrena threw her head back and cackled in victory. She then turned to a flabbergasted Xareus.

“Speechless now, father? Shocked at what I am capable of? Still can’t see what wonder is in front of you?!” Enrena screamed in between laughs. Iona, still the complete opposite, bit her lip as she silently picked up the mirror and hung it on the wall next to them.

“What are you trying to do?” Xareus demanded.

“I am doing what you should’ve done a long time ago! Searching for mother!” Enrena shouted bitterly. “You left her, father. You forgot about her, even though she loved you so dearly.”

“Are you being serious, Enrena?” Xareus suddenly guffawed. “I thought you practiced magic for something far more noble, and yet, it’s just about your mother? The mother who never really cared about both of you? The woman who abandoned us to go kill people and attempt to destroy our land?”

“Shut up!” Enrena swung her arm. A wave of magic knocked Xareus down the floor. “What do you know about my mother?” she continued. “How can a pathetic second-class warlock like you understand Aurora’s true purpose? She was going to make Asgard a better place. For her, and for us. She deserved to be worshipped. She deserved to be Queen. But obviously you and the rest of this damned kingdom were too stupid to acknowledge her.”

A gap of silence.

“Sister.” Iona tapped Enrena on the back. “You must leave now. I have a feeling your magic can’t shield us any longer.”

Enrena exhaled sharply, looking at the giant mirror now hung on the wall by Iona. “Alright. Get me the scepter,” she ordered. Iona quickly obliged. Xareus writhed on the floor, unable to get up. He checked his leg. The blow had damaged a bone, and left behind an ugly wound. He groaned in agony. With the Dark Scepter now in hand, Enrena gazed upon his bleeding leg and sneered, “Look how helpless you are. A weak little bird. I don’t get why Mother chose you. You’re pathetic. Maybe it was out of pity.”

Xareus laughed, shaking his head. “It’s called love, daughter. Which I don’t think you understand,” he said, and laughed again, only to grimace from pain.

“No, I honestly don’t. And even if ‘love’ has something to do here, I don’t see why she felt that for you.” Enrena’s sour smile drilled a hole into her father’s soul. The man shrugged, pretending to focus on his wound while in fact, his heart ached more than his broken leg.

Iona signaled Enrena. Enrena nodded assuringly, before turning to her father again. “Worry not, father. When I return with her, we shall liberate you all from your agony. We will wipe this corrupted land free of the bad seeds and create a new planet, a new era. Consider that a gift of mercy.”

The father could not utter another word. He chose to collapse completely on the floor and hide his face away from the disgraceful daughter. Enrena flashed him a blank look before shutting him off her mind completely. He’s not important. I need to do this no matter what. She faced her sister.

“Iona, take this,” Enrena said, handing Iona a purple satchel. The objects inside clanked.

“What’s this?” Iona asked, taking the satchel and secured it on her belt.

“Your ticket to survival while I’m away. When you’re in danger, take one of the stones in this satchel and throw it at your enemy. Instant kill, that’s the red stones. Use yellow stones if you want to run, got it?”

“O-Of course! I’ll try my best to stay safe, but… What happens when I run out of these?”

“Trust me, you won’t.”

“But.. What should I do after you’re gone? Where can I go?”

“Just do as what we planned. You must leave Asgard. Go to the nearest realm and start searching for Xandar from there, it’s a planet in Andromeda Galaxy. You’ll be safe there, as long as you avoid Nova Corps. Alright?”

“I remember, sister.”

Thunder ripped through the sky. Enrena felt a shiver running down her spine. Her protection spell broke. No time left. She quickly pecked Iona on the forehead before saying the final words, “Until we meet again, Iona. I will miss you so dearly.”

Iona tightened her grip on Enrena’s hand in place of a reply. Enrena inhaled, as if that would fill her lungs with courage. She faced the mirror and spoke loudly, “Spatio et tempore aperueit ianuam, aperire januam regni in ulteriorem!” The world within the mirror shifted and warped into various shapes, splashed with bold colours. Energy surged from the liquifying glass surface. Enrena took one last look at her sister — _remembering her golden eyes and fiery hair and beautiful skin, her sister, she was her dear sister_ — before throwing herself deep into the Dimension Mirror and became nothing more than a distancing silhouette.

Iona stifled a sob. It wasn’t the time to cry, she needed to be strong so she could live until the day their mother returns. The glorious day of unity. Briefly, she ran towards the vanity table and snatched a comb. As she returned to the mirror, Xareus weakly chimed in, voice hoarse from pain, “You are supporting your foolish sister, dear Iona? Even though Aurora isn’t even your birth mother…”

Iona chuckled. She hit the mirror with the comb as hard as possible. First hit, a web of cracks busted to life in the center. “Aurora isn’t my birth mother. Iona is also just the name she gave me. Yes. But I grew up in her arms. I had her unconditional love. She loved me when no one else did. The same’s with Enrena.”

Second hit, this time harder. The hairline cracks extended to the rim. “While you, father,” Iona said through gritted teeth, “never cared about us. You were just there for show. Going to work and coming home without a hello. We thought you would change after mother’s death. But you in contrary, completely enisled us since.”

“You know I love you both, Iona. I was just too busy and I was also hurt—”

“I don’t believe you.” Third hit. The mirror started cracking more and more on its own. “If you loved us, you would have been there when Enrena almost died from using magic. You would have been there when we cried for mother in the middle of the night. You would have been there when we cried for you to comfort us! Are we less important than those whores on the street?”

Iona felt her eyes sting. No, she could not cry over this wretched man. He was not worth it. If he said one more word, she would kill him. Red stone. Instant kill. She would not regret a single thing. She knew Enrena wouldn't too.

Fourth and final hit. The mirror combusted. Shreds of glass darted through thin air and evaporated within the very second they escaped. Stardust rained down the floor. Iona dropped the comb and stepped back.

“Iona, I—” Xareus tried to say but Iona cut him off. She strode towards him whilst tugging the necklace out to full view. The pendant flickered blue. “W-What are you doing?” the father gushed, trying to claw his way back but to no avail. Iona sighed thoughtfully before blowing at the pendant. Waves of magic whooshed down, ultimately encasing Xareus and freezing him. The unfortunate man gradually shifted into the form of a blue cube.

“Don’t worry, father,” Iona said, picking up the cube. “It’s safe in there. And you’re in good hands too.”

Suddenly, a storm of lightning bolts crashed down. Iona snapped her head aside to find Thor, the Great God of Thunder standing there in all of his glory. His sapphire eyes aimed straight at her questioningly. Iona didn’t let her fear show through. She had magic. She could kill him with the red stone, but would that really work? And killing Odin’s heir.. Not so smart. Before she could further weigh her options, a swarm of guards quickly flooded the room.

“One last chance, thief,” Thor threatened. “Return the Tesseract, and I do this the easy way.” He swung the Mjolnir once as a demonstration. Iona smirked, throwing the cube towards the God. Thor swiftly caught it, and using the moment everyone was partly distracted, she dove her hand into the satchel and scooped out a thumb-sized yellow stone with odd markings on it.

With the final sentence, “See you around, boys,” Iona crushed the stone and apparated away in a wisp of lava-coloured smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in my eyes, the capital of Asgard is a modern city. Here's a little glossary to clear things up. 
> 
> \- QUARTER: A quarter consists of five neighbouring streets. So basically, it's just walking on streets but calling it Quarter. 
> 
> \- CYCLE: Imagine a planet orbiting Asgard. One cycle takes one day. So Cycle One -> Seven is respectively Monday -> Sunday, and it keeps repeating.
> 
> \- WEATHER: Asgard should have day and night, rain and snow. I like to think that way. 
> 
> That's all! :)


	2. Intro

**RED QUEEN: INTRO**

•

 

Long ago, while pandemonium was still consuming the Nine Realms, there was a legend about one omnipotent Goddess who wielded unstoppable magic, living by the name Aurora Irdite. Having such powers requires great responsibility, but that was one thing Aurora did not possess. Oh no, the woman was reckless and greedy beyond imagination. She didn’t want her golden name plague and diamond statue in the square. She wanted Asgard, and she would kill for the throne.

After enchanting a powerful army, arrogant Aurora declared war with the young King Odin, while still being fully aware of his mighty Mjolnir. A ferocious war broke out right in the Capital of Asgard, costing the lives of hundreds innocent civilians. Fueled by anger and grief, Odin rapidly blazed through waves of enemy to finally confront the nefarious Goddess Aurora. A grand battle ensued. Magic sparked so bright in the sky, even the inhabitants of Midgard could observe if looked close enough. Soldiers of both sides stopped fighting to kneel down and witness the two Gods performing unspeakable wonders, completely awestruck.

In the end, light overtook darkness. With a final swing of the Mjolnir, Aurora was sent crashing into the Bifrost and therefore banished to a different realm, never to be seen again. All of her spells were removed. Peace returned to Asgard once more.

But that was far from the end.

Rumors were spread that the descendants of Aurora remained alive and were hiding from the world. Dangerous, angry souls seeking revenge for the death of their mother. Odin ordered the guards to search through the city and the safe realms so as to locate and annihilate the great threat to Asgard’s people. The inquisition lasted for months, only to peter out to nothing. Years have past, and none of the enemies that dared to step into our sacred land were the Irdite Sisters. The tale was never mentioned again.

Despite so, the Great Sorceress of Vanaheim had spoken these prophetic words — words that forever struck fear in the heart of King Odin, words that had marked the impending end for the prosperous kingdom of the Norse Gods, words that begin one of the greatest tales of Asgardian history:

 _I see thy kingdom,_  
_Drenched in blood._  
_Anon!_  
Crows afar shall gather,  
To feast! Feast on prickly flesh and decaying teeth!  
Attend on death, you all shall.  
Hand over thy heavy crown to our Queen.  
Haply, thy doom shan’t arrive.  
Ill intentions shan’t prevail.


End file.
